John A.T. Robinson wrote in his book JESUS AND HIS COMING:
These ideas and others like them (e.g. the resurrection of the dead),
which in the New Testament are associated with the Parousia, do not
of themselves require any special explanations. The consumation of God's
purpose, the judgement, the ingathering (of the elects), and the end
of the world are all parts of traditional Jewish eschatology. (p. 21)
I am not familiar with the original sources behind Robinson's conclusion.
It seems that his conclusion is pretty obvious; He does not cite
the sources supporting his conclusion. So be it.
But I wonder what does the "end of the world" mean in traditional Jewish
eschatology? In short, does it include the collapse/destruction of the
physical earth, or rather mean the collapse of the existing social order?
Sincerely
Moon Jung
Associate Professor
Dept of Media Technology,
Sogang Univ,
Seoul, Korea
Traditional Jewish Eschatology,
Moon-Ryul Jung, 12/16/2002